Tony wrote:I just noticed that this year there is a 13m size ... Anyone ridden this beast yet?Is it a 'big guy kite' or could it be a decent light wind wave kite.

Tony

Was curious on this also, people seem to be enjoying the drifters but was wondering about the larger sizes, 11 and 13.. how does it compare to the switchblade, can it be used as a lightwind machine.. I'm guessing it will be ideal in conditions where a 9m would be used for flatwater, but with strong undertow and big waves to compensate for the power loss?

I bought the 13 when it first came out, last summer, and have a full set of Drifters. I would say the turning speed would be average for a kite that size, other than that, it feels exactly like all the other Drifters. One of the things done very well on the Drifters is the feel of the entire range is pretty much the same, you just have to adjust your timing for turning speeds. It is a good lighter wind option, and with a bigger board can get you riding pretty early. It's not really fast enough to really throw around in the waves and I would take an 11 with a bigger board first but generally I'm happy with it.

Al thanks for your advice, I know you're a Drifter guy, a friend in Portugal just got an 11 and he reports its suprisingly good for freestyle also.. just not clear how good it is for big air.. surely its design is not optimized for that but to drift instead.. but not clear that those two design goals are orthogonal to each other (i.e. either or).

Great wave kite, not really for light wind.An heavy guy can use it when light guys are on the 11m.Same low end of Switchblade 12m but much better drifting on the wave and lighter in the air. and at the bar. At 70 kilos I use it from 13-14 knots tropical wind.Bye Jankie

alpower wrote:It's not a bad kite for freestyle. What you really notice, is not the lack of height but the lack of hang time.

I would agree with that and I have noticed that with Surf kites, in general, the ability to pop off the water is still there, just with no hangtime. I'm guessing that's just a function of being designed for surf, not jumping.

I have my best sessions when the wind drops. Clean waves, just getting towed around by the kite and drop in on some waves. Doesnt matter how you fly the kite: downloop, kiteloop, drift, unhooked, stearing left, stearing right.... it dont pull you anyway. I'd imagine the 11 or 13 to be an awesome tool for the job.